QUEBEC CITY (CIS) – In a close match between two Canada West conference opponents, the Saskatchewan Huskies virtually led from start to finish defeating the Alberta Pandas 70-63 at the PEPS Gym of Université Laval Thursday night, thus reaching the semifinals of the ArcelorMittal Dofasco CIS Women’s Basketball Final 8 tournament for the second straight year.

The fourth-ranked Huskies are in tough for their semifinal matchup against the nation’s top seeded team, the Windsor Lancers, Saturday at 2:30 pm. Saskatchewan completes a quarterfinal round where all the favourites advanced.

“Alberta is a tough team and we knew we were going to be in for a tough matchup today. They really pushed the tempo well. Thankfully Riley Humbert stepped up with her amazing perimeter shooting to put us in the lead and as always we kind of had different people contributing,” said Huskies’ head coach Lisa Thomaidis. “I thought we did a better job at controlling the tempo in the second half to preserve the victory.”

“We are looking forward to play Windsor, they are the best team in the country, they have proven that and we are up to the challenge. We want to be tested against the best. We’ll be ready Saturday.”

The Pandas will now face the host Laval Rouge et Or in the second consolation semifinal Friday at 8 pm. In their second consecutive appearance at the national tournament, Alberta once again loses its opening matchup.

“I think that game was exactly what both teams expected to see. Two teams that know each other very well, that are competitive and play very hard. The game went the way we wanted, we just didn’t make enough shots unfortunately,” said Pandas’ coach Scott Edwards. “I am proud of the girls’ effort. We came to nationals a year ago and didn’t play our best on day one. Today I thought we gave it our all and we’ll find a way to regroup.”

The fans in attendance for the last quarterfinal matchup of the day were treated to an exciting first half offensive display as both teams combined for 53 points. The Huskies, led by Riley Humbert’s 15 first-half points, shot a combined 64% from the field, compared to the Pandas 55%.

After a fast-paced first quarter, which Saskatchewan led 30-23, the second quarter slowed a little. However, the Canada West finalists Huskies managed to stay ahead at the half, 45-39.

Following an offensive first half, both teams came out of the locker room having made defensive adjustments. In the third quarter, only 16 points were scored between the two, including 10 by Saskatchewan, increasing their lead to 10 points. The Pandas managed to close the gap in the fourth, but the Huskies free-throw shooting put Alberta away for good. Saskatchewan scored nine fourth-quarter points from the line, securing a 70-63 victory.